Hungry for bowl, Noles will play ULM
But to make postseason, FSU needs three wins in four remaining games.
TALLAHASSEE — For years, decades even, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion: If there was a college football season, Florida State would end it by playing in a postseason bowl game.
It wasn’t always a national championship game. It wasn’t always a New Year’s Day bowl. But heading into this season, 35 consecutive Florida State football teams had gone bowling.
On Tuesday, FSU’s administration took one step toward clearing the path for a 36th consecutive trip by formally announcing the school has rescheduled its previously canceled game against Louisiana-Monroe.
Now, the Seminoles’ players know it’s up to them to find three victories in their four remaining games: at Clemson this Saturday, at home against Delaware State, at rival Florida and at home against ULM.
“That’s important because a lot of guys laid down blood, sweat and tears for this program,” junior safety Derwin James said. “Before we got here, this program was built. So we just owe that to the people who came before us ... 35 consecutive bowls, and we’re not trying to let that end.”
Winning at Clemson will be a tall task. The Tigers are 8-1 overall (6-1 in the ACC) and 16-point favorites against the Noles (3-5, 3-4).
Clemson’s players also will have plenty of motivation of their own. A victory against Florida State would clinch the ACC’s Atlantic Division championship and get them one step closer to a third consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff.
If FSU falls to 3-6 this week, the Seminoles will have to sweep their final three games to assure themselves of a bowl trip.
The Delaware State game is a near certain win; the Hornets are 1-8 and one of the worst FCS teams in the country. Based on talent, Florida should be the toughest opponent of the final three. But the Gators are 3-5, have lost their past two games by a combined margin of 87-23 and are playing with an interim head coach. ULM is 4-5 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.
So no matter what happens at Clemson, adding three more wins is certainly doable for the Seminoles.
“We just don’t want to be that team that ends it,” sophomore cornerback Levonta Taylor said. “You don’t want to disappoint anybody in the program or the alumni that played before us that built the standard. We don’t want to be that team, this class that breaks it up. We just want to keep on going.”
If FSU falls short of six wins, the door to a bowl appearance is not completely closed.
With 39 bowls on the slate this season and 78 openings available, there’s a strong chance there won’t be enough teams with qualifying records. That means a handful of teams with 5-7 marks could make it in as well.
Unfortunately for FSU, those selections will be made based on NCAA Academic Progress Rankings, and the Seminoles do not rank high in that category. They meet the minimum standard of 930, but their multiyear score of 939 is one of the worst in the country.
With that in mind, the safest bet for the Seminoles is winning three of these final four and locking up that 6-6 record. But coach Jimbo Fisher doesn’t want his players to be overly concerned with that big-picture goal, even though he appreciates their desire to keep the streak going.
“You set your goals, but if you sit and dwell on the outcome of the game ... you forget to play the game,” he said. “You’ve got to play and prepare. You can’t let that (goal) paralyze you.”